by Partner Anna Rossides
For a growing games company, an IPO may seem a long way off. Management is focused on developing new titles, expanding into international markets, growing its player base and investing in talent and technology. But companies that successfully access the public markets rarely start preparing when the investment bank arrives. The foundations for an IPO are built years earlier. For Cyprus-based and Cyprus-connected games companies with international ambitions, it is therefore worth asking:
Could your games company be IPO-ready in five years?
The answer does not need to be “yes” today. What matters is identifying the issues that could become obstacles later — and addressing them while there is still time.
Start with the fundamentals
For many games businesses, intellectual property is the company’s most valuable asset. A single title may involve source code, characters, artwork, music, trademarks and third-party technology, created by employees, contractors and external studios.
Management should be confident that:
- key IP is properly owned by the group;
- employee and contractor assignments are effective;
- third-party licences are appropriately documented; and
- trademarks and other key assets are held in the right entities.
The same applies to the company’s key commercial contracts. Relationships with publishers, distributors and major gaming platforms may be fundamental to the business. Change-of-control, assignment, exclusivity and termination provisions should therefore be understood well before an IPO is contemplated.
Is the corporate structure ready?
Rapidly growing businesses often accumulate complex structures, historic investments, different share classes, IP-holding entities and intercompany arrangements. A pre-IPO review should ask whether the structure is clear, robust and suitable for institutional investment. It should also identify historic corporate housekeeping issues — such as incomplete statutory records, undocumented share issuances or shareholder arrangements — before they become problems in formal due diligence.
For a Cyprus private company, the appropriate public-company structure and any necessary conversion or reorganisation should also be considered early.
What would an investor discover today?
A legal due diligence may reveal an incomplete IP assignment, an undocumented shareholder arrangement or a problematic change-of-control provision which could be manageable today. Discovering several such issues shortly before an IPO can create unnecessary cost and delay.
An early legal readiness review can turn these issues into a practical remediation plan.
Think internationally about the listing venue
A Cyprus games company should not necessarily assume that its eventual listing venue must be Cyprus. Depending on its size, investor base and international ambitions, potential markets could include Cyprus, Athens, London, Warsaw or other European or international markets.
Recent changes to London’s AIM Rules illustrate why this analysis should begin early. From August 2026, the new Express Market route broadens the potential route into AIM for qualifying overseas companies with an established public-market track record. The revised rules also provide a framework for certain dual-market admissions.
For an internationally ambitious games business, developments such as these make it worthwhile to consider the public-market strategy well before an IPO is imminent. The objective is not to decide today where the company will list. It is to ensure that the company is structured so that it has options when the time comes.
The five-year advantage
The biggest advantage of preparing early is time. Time to:
- consolidate IP ownership;
- improve governance;
- simplify the group structure where appropriate;
- review key contracts;
- address historic issues; and
- consider potential listing venues.
None of this requires a commitment to an IPO. The same preparation can make a business more attractive to private-equity investors, strategic acquirers and other sources of capital.
How we can help
Our capital markets and corporate teams advise Cyprus companies and international groups on the legal, structural and governance issues that arise when preparing for an IPO or other significant capital-raising event. Our teams can help identify any issues that should be addressed and assist clients to deal with them from now.
